


Grey Skies - Missplaced Blame

by GachMoBrea



Series: The Unexpected Series [33]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: AU, Abduction, Alternate Universe, Angry!Len, Awesome!Lisa, But it still Goes with the Series, Episode Related, Fighting, Gen, Kidnapping, Mick & Len work together, OOC, SPOILER TAGS!!!, Self-Rescue, Team is family, Vehicle Theft, carnivals, injured!Barry, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 07:56:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7524655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cisco and Lisa are traveling to get groceries when they crash into a man on the road! Griffon Grey wants those he holds responsible to 'fix him', but what will happen to the couple while in the hands of an angry Metahuman? Who's going to rescue them? And why is Len angry at everyone?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grey Skies - Missplaced Blame

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do NOT own "The Flash" or any of the affiliated characters...
> 
> Story Note: Instead of separating this into Chapters, I separated scenes with these: "---" (You'll see...)

While Barry sings his children to sleep... Lisa and Cisco are out in the STAR Labs van on another grocery run.  
"I can't wait for Lenny to get better," Lisa claps her hands excitedly. "Then he can take these frivolous food trips and I can stay home with the girls!"  
"And what about the bonus of being with your loving boyfriend?" Cisco scoffs, offended the woman hadn't appreciated being with him at all.  
"Cisco, honestly," Lisa chides, then her eyes widen, arm reaching for her man's arm as she simultaneously points ahead. "Cisco, watch out!"  
There's a man in the road. Cisco hits the breaks with both feet, but the car still hits the man...And crashes to a halt.  
Lisa protects her head with her arms, but the collision bursts out the airbags, ramming her own fists into her forehead and towards the window, knocking her out.  
Cisco doesn't fare any better. His hands were glued to the steering wheel as he tried to stop the vehicle without success. His head had hit the wheel before the bag even deployed, earning an extra blow to his already wounded temple and knocking him out as well.

 

Cisco wakes to a pleasantly warm body snuggled in his arms. He can't remember falling asleep or why he's in a slouched sitting up-ish position.  
Then the memory of the man and the crash come barreling into his brain and he gasps, opening his eyes to look for his girlfriend.  
Lisa is in front of him, slumped against his chest with her arms tied in front of her. Cisco pulls on his arms wrapped around his girlfriend's body and realizes he's tied up as well. His bindings feel like a seat belt.  
"Cisco Ramon," a man's voice calls for the genius's attention. Cisco looks up to see a man, maybe late thirties, early forties, with his hands in a high school jacket. A second later he remembers it's the man from the accident.  
"How did you crash my van?" Cisco asks, bewildered. "And how are you not in need of medical attention?"  
"I'm one of Dr. Wells' mistakes, coming home to roost," the stranger answers with a scowl. "Since he's dead, you two are my only hope."  
Him and Lisa? What does the man think an ex-thief can do for him? Cisco's mind whirls with questions as the woman of his thoughts starts to move in his arms.  
Lisa's eyes blink open as she pulls her head away from her boyfriend's chest. She tugs on her restraints and frowns.  
"What did Lenny get me into now?" she sighs, looking back at Cisco and offering the genius a playful smirk. "Or is this your doing?"  
Her wiggling eyebrows have the genius's heart beating significantly faster. Cisco coughs, trying to distract himself from his burning cheeks.  
"Caitlin Snow," their captor addresses them angrily. "This isn't a game."  
"Who are you?" Lisa demands, standing. It puts her butt directly in Cisco's face, making his cheeks burn even more.  
"My name," the stranger takes a few steps closer. "Is Griffon Grey."  
"And I should care because?" Lisa drawls in a simile of her brother's tone. Cisco struggles to stand behind his girlfriend. He can't get a good enough balance, so he decides to remain sitting but leans to the side as best he can to be less face-to-butt.  
"You and your friend helped Dr. Wells create us Metahumans," Griffon frowns. "So you two are going to cure me."  
"What's wrong with you?" Lisa tilts her head, considering. "Other than your poor choice in clothing. That jacket is doing nothing for you."  
Griffon strides over to a heavy piece of metal and twists it into a ball like it was made out of paper. The Meta drops the metal chunk, making a loud clanging noise echo throughout the building.  
"Super strength," Lisa smiles. "Nice."  
"But every time I use it, I get older!" Griffon growls, stepping a little closer.  
"So?" Lisa shrugs. "You're what, thirty-five? With the right make-up and wardrobe, you can look ten years younger easily."  
Cisco can't believe how brave and unaffected by the situation his girlfriend is. It's like she's talking to an angry fraternity sister, not a Metahuman kidnapper.  
"I'm only nineteen!" Griffon practically rips a picture out of his pocket, shoves it in the woman's face. "This is what your particle accelerator did to me!"  
"That's what you did to you," Lisa rolls her eyes. "You said it ages you when you use your powers. Ever think about NOT using them?"  
Griffon's hands turn to fists, his eyes narrowing dangerously as his frown deepens.  
Fearing the wrath of their captor, Cisco finally speaks up again, "Listen, dude, we were tricked just as much as you were by Dr. Wells. If we had known he was a psychopath, we would never have helped him create the accelerator."  
"Did you get changed into a freak too?" Griffon glares down at the scientist still partially hidden by Lisa's body.  
Cisco's shoulder slump, "No."  
"Then you don't know anything," the Meta bites out. "You two either fix me, or all three of us are going to die."  
"Let's not get melodramatic now, Griff," Lisa sighs, sitting back down in front of her boyfriend. "How about you untie us, then we poke and prod you until we learn how you tick?"  
Grey nods, pocketing his picture so he can use both of his hands. He grabs Lisa's bindings first but pauses. He looks up at them, "If you try to escape," he warns them slowly. "I'll break your legs."  
The belt falls loose from Lisa's wrists and she smiles, "You try to flirt with me? I'll break your heart."  
Cisco is utterly speechless.

\---

After putting the children to bed, Barry and Len find the computer system in the cortex beeping. A red banner covers all the screens, the words "Dash Cam Accident" written in white letters in the center.  
"What is that?" Len asks his partner as they enter the room.  
"Not sure..." Barry clicks a few of the prompts on the screen, then a video of Lisa and Cisco driving in the STAR Labs van starts.  
"Is this like those Russian cams?" Len wonders aloud, leaning over the back of the speedster's chair to watch the screen. "Well, without the music."  
The car crashes, the screen fuzzing over occasionally, then an unknown man rips the driver's side door off and unbuckles Cisco before pulling him out of the vehicle.  
Lisa is taken in the video as well.  
"I'll get my gun," Len announces, voice a little dark.  
"Wait!" Barry stops the video and jumps out of his seat, arm reaching for his partner but he doesn't make contact.  
"Some Meta just took my sister," Len ignores his partner's call as he keeps moving to the armory where the Cold Gun waits for him.  
"Len," the speedster runs around the other man and stops directly in front of him. "You're still healing."  
"Caitlin's just being over protective," Len rolls his eyes, steps around Barry to continue his journey.  
"Who's going to watch our children?" Barry points out, running in front of the other man to block his way again.  
"Mick'll be back by the time I'm ready to go."  
The computer beeps, announcing the pyro's arrival.  
"See?" Once again Len walks around his partner. Once again the speedster gets in his way. "Barry!"  
"They won't be there," Barry tells him, even though his partner probably already knows. "There was a time code on the bottom of the video. It happened almost an hour ago. Whoever took Cisco and Lisa is long gone. I'll go, find out whatever I can about who took them, and bring it all back here to you."  
"They didn't have any-" Mick stops and frowns at the duo locked in a staring battle; his arms full of grocery bags. "What happened? Are Spit-Fire and the girls okay?"  
"Lisa and Cisco have been taken by some Meta," Len turns to look at Mick. "I need you to babysit while we go figure out who's messing with the family."  
"I'll go," Mick instantly answers. "You're not allowed to leave the building for another week."  
"Et tu, Mick?" Len frowns. "I'm not sitting on my hands while some strength enhanced Metahuman holds my baby sister captive."  
"Who's being held captive?" Caitlin's voice joins the argument.  
"How did you get in here without setting off the computer alert?" Barry blinks at his teammate, mind worried about possible problems with the security system.  
"I never left," Caitlin shrugs. "I took a nap on a cot in Cisco's work room."  
"Now," the scientist continues. "Who is being held captive?"  
"Lisa and Cisco were taken by a Meta," Len's voice is strained with controlled anger. "And these two are wasting time trying to keep me locked up here."  
"You can't leave yet," the scientist frowns. "You've got another week before you can run around and do whatever you want."  
"That's what I said," Mick pipes up.  
"Can you all shut up!" Len barks, anger finally breaking his cool. He closes his eyes tightly, takes a breath. "We're wasting time."  
"Then stop fighting us on this and listen," Barry says firmly, stepping once more into the other man's space. "Stay here with Caitlin. I'll let you know what I find over the comms."  
In order to prevent any more arguments, the speedster runs from the room to change into his Flash persona and go to the address where the accident happened.

"Come on," Mick nudges his ex-partner. "You can help me put the groceries away."

\---

Cisco and Lisa convince the Metahuman that they needed certain chemicals in order to cure him. Griffon listened to the list of materials before tying the couple together in a hugging position then attaching both bindings to one of the loose cars in the abandoned warehouse full of what looked like carnival equipment.  
"Why didn't you tell him you aren't Caitlin?" Cisco asks, head resting on his girlfriend's shoulder.  
"He doesn't need Lisa Snart," Lisa huffs. "If he finds out he grabbed the wrong girl, I will no longer be of use and he might think about getting rid of me."  
"Huh," Cisco mulls that thought over. "You're as smart as you are pretty."  
"Then I'm smarter than you!" Lisa giggles, hugging her boyfriend tightly as he grumbles unintelligently.

"I actually pity poor Griffon," Lisa sighs after a stretch of silence.  
"Because he's starting to look like a grandpa before he's old enough to drink?" Cisco smirks, trying to lighten the mood.  
"No," his girlfriend sighs. "Because Lenny's gonna mop the floor with his wrinkly self once he finds out who took us."

\---

"We've got a match on the blood sample Barry brought back from the accident," Caitlin announces, bringing up a picture of a young man on one of the screens in the cortex.  
"That's not him," Len frowns, arms crossed over his chest. "He's just a kid. We're looking for a man in his late thirties."  
"Yes, but," the scientist pulls up a still of the Meta's face next to the younger man's. The computer shows the similarities, indicating it's the same person. "This is Griffon Grey. His blood is over oxygenating, making him age faster than he should. The picture on the left?" She points to the photo of the younger man. "That was taken for his high school graduation."  
"So, he's aging," Len shrugs. "What does that have to do with Lisa and Cisco?"  
"The dramatic affect to his body was caused by the particle accelerator explosion," Caitlin surmises. "He might be out for revenge."  
"Lisa had no part in that accident by Dr. Jeckle," the ex-criminal growls.  
"Wrong place, wrong time?" Caitlin offers, unsure herself. "Unfortunately, both Cisco and Lisa's phones were abandoned in the damaged van. We'll have to find another way to locate them."  
"I'll shake a few trees," Len threatens, voice deepening to his old criminal tone.  
"No, Len," Barry says firmly, commanding. "We've been over this."  
"I'm not your pet, I'm your partner," Len growls, expression darkening as he steps into the speedster's space. "I don't take orders from you, Scarlett."  
"Okay!" Caitlin steps in between the two, one hand on each man's chest. "I think it's best if we just step away. Take a breath."  
The baby monitor goes off. Someone's crying, Lil'Lisa most likely, and Len's eyes shoot to the device.  
"This ain't over," he warns, brushing shoulders with Barry as he walks to the bedroom where their children are.

Caitlin waits until she hears her teammate speaking softly over the monitor before she addresses the speedster, "I think I might actually have to sedate him."  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Mick growls from his spot in the archway. "Len's got the bad habit of serving out revenge later."  
"Let me guess," Caitlin offers the man a crooked smile. "He serves it cold?"  
"It is the best," Mick shrugs, face devoid of a smile. "Even the Captain can go a little crazy when the people he cares about are involved."  
The computer beeps. Barry rushes over to the device as it reads out a silent alarm being triggered in a storage facility for medical and scientific compounds. Even from the one camera angle, it's clear who the burglar is: Griffon Grey.  
Barry checks the Labs' security cameras, finds Len in the kitchen area feeding Lil'Lisa, then looks up to the others.  
"Don't tell Len," he orders firmly. "He'll try to come with. He needs to stay and heal."  
"I'll go with you," Mick says, doesn't ask. "I've always wanted to be flashed around the city."

The Flash and Heat Wave arrive as the Meta is inspecting large cylinders on one of the many shelves in the facility. Grey turns to them as the speedster stops, face grim as his grip tightens on one of the cylinders.  
"Who are you?" Grey asks, eyes looking the duo over carefully.  
"I am The Flash," Barry steps forward. "We know you're holding two people against their will. Tell us where they are."  
"No!" Grey throws the silver container at the duo. Mick shoots at the thing and it explodes.  
"Heat Wave!" Barry growls shielding his face from burning debris. "Careful what you shoot! You'll get us both killed!"  
"Hey, grandpa!" Mick shouts out as the Meta grabs for another container. "Why don't you stop playing 'toss the can' and just hand over the innocent civilians?"  
"They're not innocent!" Grey tosses another cylinder. Thankfully, Mick doesn't shoot this one. The metal clangs against the floor as the two men dodge out of its path. "Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow are gonna fix me!"  
"Caitlin?" Barry repeats, confused.  
"Me?" Caitlin parrots over the comms. "He thinks Lisa is me?"  
"Can't you just," Mick moves his arms towards the Meta. "Flash him into stopping?"  
"Thing's are a little different from this side of the fight, aren't they?" Barry smirks, but decides the pyro is right. Hiding from flying containers won't bring him closer to finding his missing family members.  
In a bolt of lightning, Barry is in Grey's space, grabbing hold of the man's shirt and tossing him away from his improvised ammunition.  
"Ah," Mick cheers. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Okay, Griffon," the hero stands over the Meta. "We don't want any trouble. We just want the two people you took back."  
Griffon gets to his feet shaking his head.  
"You can have them when I'm done with them," Griffon growls, shoving both his hands at the speedster's chest and sending him flying through the storage facility like he was a rag doll.  
Mick's eyes widen as the young man-turned-old man ages right in front of him.  
When the Meta makes a run for it, Mick chases after him, shouting, "Hey!"  
Grey pauses in his escape long enough to pull a whole storage wrack to the ground. Mick has the sense of mind to stop in his chase, instead going in the opposite direction to avoid falling objects.  
After everything settles there's no sign of Grey. With an angry grunt, Mick goes to find the speedster. 

The Flash is just pulling himself off the ground, his left arm clutched around his mid section while a pained look tightens the muscles on his face.  
"You okay, Red?" Mick frowns, looking the hero over for injuries. "You ain't looking too hot."  
"Grey got me pretty good in the ribs," Barry frowns as he almost falls backwards. Mick reaches forward to grab the hero by the elbow to steady him. "I think they're all broken."  
"You got super healing though, right?" the criminal asks, voice teetering towards worried. "You ain't allowed to die on me, kid. Not when Lenny's angry at the both of us for keeping him cooped up at your HQ."  
"Yeah, I'll heal," Barry nods, biting the inside of his cheek when an especially harsh spike of pain makes the world spin. "But I don't think I can run at the moment."  
Police sirens faintly reach the two's ears, making the criminal tense. Caitlin voices her concerns over the comms while Mick drags the hero out of the facility and to the safety of the shadows outside.

\---

"Come on, Babe, just a 'little' higher," Lisa encourages softly, trying to get her boyfriend to lift his foot to untangle their bodies.  
"I don't want to kick your face!" Cisco complains nervously, foot moving so slow it's barely noticeable.  
"Oh, for the love-" Lisa pushes the genius, making his foot go the rest of the way out and causing his body to fall to the ground inches away from her own. "See? I'm fine."  
The two had realize that by stepping out of each other's arms, they wouldn't be held together in their previous 'hugging' position. Not that Cisco minded. Even in their dubious circumstance, the contact felt nice.  
"Now," Lisa huffs out a breath, tied hands patting her boyfriend's pockets. "If I can just..."  
"Why are you groping me?" Cisco's cheeks, which had finally cooled after having his girlfriend's rear end plastered in front of it, felt like they would burst into flames.  
"I'm not groping you," Lisa giggles, pushing him to the side a little to get at his back pocket. "Trust me, it would feel so much better."  
The statement doesn't help the genius's blushing problem but it does calm is erratic heart beat some.  
"Why are you patting me down then?" he tries asking next. "We already know he took our phones."  
That was the first thing they looked for once they were alone.  
"Oh! You know what?" Lisa stops the search of her boyfriend's clothes to smile gleefully at him. "When we get our new phones, let's go in together as a couple! We'll get a better plan that way!"  
"Seriously?" Cisco can't believe his ears. "We've been abducted by a Metahuman version of the Hulk and you want to talk cell phone plans?"  
"You act like we're going to be here forever," his girlfriend rolls her eyes, pushing him to the other side to check the other back pocket. "Aha!"  
Lisa pulls back, sitting on her haunches as she lifts a bobby pin in the air for all to see.  
"What are you going to use that for?" Cisco blinks at the small piece of metal.  
"Undo our locks of course," his girlfriend frowns, reaching for the genius's wrists.  
"But there aren't any locks," Cisco tells her, inwardly groaning for the wasted time.  
"Huh," Lisa tilts her head, pulling on the simple latch that was keeping her boyfriend's hands tied. "I guess you just couldn't get your hands to reach it right. I thought there'd be locks."

The couple quickly undoes their binds and race to find the exit. Thankfully, a neon sign directs them right to it and they leave the building long before Griffon Grey makes his way back.

\---

Mick gets Barry and himself back to STAR Labs by "borrowing" a beat up truck. The speedster's protests are held back by his own clenched teeth as each bump in the road jarrs his wounded ribs.  
The pyro abandons the vehicle two blocks away from the building and half carries the hero all the way to the medical room.  
"I'm so glad you and Len take turns getting hurt," Caitlin remarks sarcastically as Barry hisses his way onto the bed. "I'd have my hands full treating both of you at the same time."  
"That Grey guy's stronger than he looks," Mick remarks in defense of the speedster. "I don't suggest shaking hands with the guy."  
"How's, where's," Barry bites back a shout as Caitlin prods an especially painful spot. "What's Len doing?"  
"Last I checked, he was putting Little Lisa back to bed," his teammate answers, hands roving over the hero's ribs as she searches for fractures. "I don't think anything's punctured, but I'd like to do a scan to double check."  
Something beeps, indicating someone with security clearance has entered the building.  
"You call for someone?" Mick asks the scientist, hand resting on his gun as he goes to the doorway in case he can see the newcomer from there.  
Caitlin shakes her head, "I haven't even touched my phone since I woke up."  
She moves over to a computer terminal on the wall and pulls up the security feeds from the entrance. Henry Allen is walking down the hallway towards the cortex, a look of worry and confusion on his face.  
"What's your dad doing here, Red?" Mick asks the equally confused hero.  
Barry shrugs.  
"I'll go say hi." The pyro points to the speedster. "You fix up the hero."

As Caitlin tends to Barry's wounds, Mick meets up with Henry in the cortex.  
"Rory," the older Allen nods to the criminal. "Do you know where Len is?"  
"Probably in the kids' room," Mick lifts his chin at the man. "What has you running here in the middle of the night?"  
"Didn't Len tell you?" the older man's brow furrows. "He called me. Told me to get here as soon as I could. Said he needed someone to watch the little ones."  
Mick scowls, dashing out of the room and straight to the bedroom where the Snart children were sleeping. He slows when he reaches the door and opens it as quietly as he can. Henry Allen catches up with him as he peers inside.  
All three are present and accounted for, all asleep; even Lil'Lisa.  
But there's no sign of Len.  
Closing the door again, Mick lets out a quiet curse.

\---

"Why do bad guys always pick the creepiest of hideouts?" Cisco grumbles as they walk far enough away that they can't see the abandoned carnival area anymore.  
"Because we're crazy," Lisa smiles, pulling her boyfriend in closer.  
"It's too bad pay phones are a rarity these days," Cisco sighs. "I really wish we could call for a pick up."  
"With what money?" his girlfriend points out. "We've only got the clothes on our backs and this bobby pin between us."  
"We could've used the pin to unscrew the box and I would've figured out how to tap into the phone lines," the genius declares confidently. "Then Joe or Barry or Henry or whoever answered with a car could come and get us."  
"I could jack us a ride," Lisa offers, eyeing a potential prospect as she speaks.  
"No thanks," Cisco pulls his girlfriend to the opposite side of the could-be stolen vehicle and away from temptation. "I'd rather not be part of any criminal activity."

"Isn't vigilantism a crime?" his girlfriend asks after a few steps. "I mean, you guys still go where you have no permission to go to and break other people's stuff."  
"We're not stealing anything," the genius scoffs. "And it's not like we break their stuff on purpose, it sometimes happens during the fights to protect the people of this city."  
"Just saying," Lisa shrugs, head moving to rest on her boyfriend's shoulder. "I could always bring the thing back later."  
"No stealing cars, Lisa."  
"Killjoy."

\---

"He's what?" Barry barks. His upper half is out of the suit, ribs wrapped in bandages and body propped up with pillows even with the bed in the upright position.  
"Len's broken out," Mick repeats. "His gun's gone too. I think he left to find that Grey guy."  
"Of all the stupid-" Barry turns to get off the bed but stops, wincing as he puts a hand to his bandaged ribs.  
"Speaking of stupid," Caitlin gently pushes the speedster's shoulders back to the pillows. "You need to rest if we want those ribs to heal properly. You can't go running after our foolhardy Captain if you literally can't run at all."  
"I'll track him down," Mick assures the hero. "I know a few places where he'll go."  
"Is everything okay with you guys?" Henry asks, face pinched in worry.  
"Don't worry, Allen," Mick grins patting the older man on the shoulder as he passes him. "Those two are just having a little spat."

After the pyro leaves, Henry doesn't look any less worried.  
"I should have called you after Len called me," Mr. Allen steps closer to his son's bed. "I'm sorry, Slugger."  
"You couldn't have known, Dad," Barry smirks through the pain in his chest. "Len is usually calm about things, but..." he shrugs, then winces when the action intensifies the pain.  
"It's his sister, right?" Henry frowns. "Rory told me a bit about it. She and Cisco are missing?"  
"Yeah," the speedster sighs, leaning back into the cushions. "We caught up to the Metahuman who took them, but he got away. I couldn't stop him."  
"Don't you dare go blaming yourself," Caitlin orders before Mr. Allen can open his mouth. "You're not responsible for things when they go awry."  
"Maybe, but, if I had been faster-"  
"You would've just ended up here faster," Henry finishes for him. "Rest," he puts his hand on his son's knee. "Relax. Heal." He smiles, "You'll get them back."  
Barry nods, suddenly feeling too tired to talk and not really having anything to say. He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

\---

"What're you doing, Len?" Mick growls when he finds his ex-partner searching the scene of the original crash. Len ignores him as he continues to search the grass with a flashlight. His motorcycle rests a few feet away. Mick had taken the stolen truck.  
"I take it you and Scarlet didn't capture Grey at the storage facility?" Len drawls, eyes narrowing on something hidden in the grass. He reaches forward and picks up a small, colored piece of paper.  
"He got away, yeah," Mick frowns, stepping closer to the other man. "That doesn't mean we won't get him next time. How do you expect to find him here?"  
"Sometimes Barry rushes through things," Len straightens into a standing position. "And misses important details."  
He shows the piece of paper to the pyro, shining the light on it so that he can see it's a ticket for carnival rides or lotteries.  
"Seems our newest Metahuman is hiding out in Central's abandoned carnival grounds," Len smirks putting the paper in his pocket. "That's where he's hiding Lisa and Cisco. You coming?"  
Mick snorts, "Like I'm gonna let you go alone."  
"Just like old times."

\---

"How much longer?" Lisa yawns. "I wanna sleep in my bed."  
"What about the girls?" Cisco is just as tired. His head is pounding a little too from the earlier collision but he doesn't want to complain to his girlfriend about it. He figures talking about her nieces might brighten the woman's mood. "Don't you wanna hold your smaller self?"  
Lisa groans, "Yeah, but Mini Me will probably just cry in my face and I'll be too tired to sing my beautiful rendition of 'Kiss the Girl'."  
"You do have a really nice voice, babe," Cisco grins, earning a kiss on the cheek for the compliment. "It's just a little further until we reach Jitters. Maybe we'll get lucky and Iris will be working late there."  
"Or early," Lisa yawns again. "Without my phone I have no idea what time it is."  
"Yeah," Cisco frowns at the broken remains of his watch. "And the crash completely totaled my watch."  
"You should make yourself one," Lisa remarks pulling on his arm to frown at the broken device. "A watch by Ramon will make the time known."  
"You're really bad a rhyming."  
Lisa smacks him.

\---

"What's wrong with using abandoned warehouses for hideouts?" Mick remarks as they enter the carnival area. "This place gives me the creeps."  
"Right," Len smirks. "You and Lisa have the same fear of clowns."  
"There's a reason why there are so many horror movies with them, Len," his ex-partner remarks defensively.  
"No worries, my dear pyromaniac," Len drawls as he moves passed the first few attractions. "This place hasn't been in service for years."  
"Who're you?" a voice calls out from their far left, earning Len's attention.  
"Just a mechanical ride enthusiast," Len smirks as Griffon Grey walks out of the shadows. "Tell me, have you seen any other people running around here recently?"  
"Why?" Grey eyes him warily. "You missing someone?"  
"That's kind of rude, don't you think?" the ex-criminal raises an eyebrow. "Avoiding my question by answering two of your own?"  
"Enough small talk," Mick steps around the small ride that was blocking him from view. "Tell us where you're hiding the man and woman and I'll let you leave here without any burns."  
"You're one of the two guys from the storage place." Grey's hands tighten into fists at his sides. "You and that red clad hero. How did you find me?"  
"This is taking too long," Len sighs, pulling out the Cold Gun. "Last chance. Tell me where they are and run, or keep quiet and pay the price."  
"Like I'm going to be afraid of a fatso with a toy gun," Griffon scoffs.  
Len's tempter flares, jaw clenching tightly as his hand squeezes the handle of his gun. It had only been two and a half weeks since giving birth to the twins and he hadn't been strong enough to even think about exercising. He knew how swollen his stomach still was, hated how it stretched his shirt near the point of tearing, but that didn't give the other man the right to make fun of him for it.  
No one had the right to make fun of anyone else. Not even for something as simple as their waist size.  
"Okay then," Len says darkly. Mick's heart jumps a little at the severity of his ex-partner's tone. He had only heard the other man sound like that when he talked about Lewis. "Time to pay the price."

\---

"Finally!" Lisa cheers. "Civilization!"  
Most of the city's store fronts were dark, the city's street lamps the only thing guiding the couple down the sidewalk to the coffee shop.  
Remarkably, CC Jitters still has its lights on.  
"Iris!" Lisa calls as her boyfriend opens the door for her. "You here, hon?"  
"Lisa?" Iris walks out of the back room frowning. "What are you doing here so late?"  
"We could as you the same question," Cisco sighs as he sits down on a chair. It had been quite the walk.  
"I'm was covering for a friend and taking inventory after finishing my work at the paper," Iris crosses her arms, looking the two over. "Now why don't you tell me why you two look like you've spent the night walking through the city?"  
Lisa smiles brightly, "Do you think you could make us some coffee first?"

\---

Caitlin is searching security feeds, trying to follow Len as he left STAR Labs, when she gets an alert on the computer about Meta activity.  
"Oh no," Caitlin's heart jumps to her throat when she finds a working camera close enough for her to see the discharge from both the Cold Gun and the Heat Gun.  
"What is it?"  
The scientist's whole body jumps that time, turning to the source of the voice.  
Barry is leaning heavily against the doorway, sweat glistening his forehead as one arm cradles supportively around his bandaged ribs.  
"If I tell you, will go running out of here?" Caitlin frowns, standing to block the computer screen. "You heal fast, Barry. But not that fast. At the very least, your ribs are still fractured."  
"Caitlin," the speedster says slowly. "What, is it?"  
The scientist sighs, "Mick and Len. They using their guns in what looks like an abandoned carnival."  
"Can you call Joe?" Barry asks, taking a deep breath to test his pain level as he straightens. He glances over to The Flash suite with a frown.  
"Barry," Caitlin moves over to her friend to put a gentle hand on his arm. "If you run at your super speed, you'll make your ribs worse. The bones could barely be knit back together. The force of the speed alone will make them completely break apart again. Or worse, they might become compound fractures and tear through the skin or your organs."  
The hero sighs heavily, eyes cast downward as the hand holding his torso tightens into a fist.  
"You're right," Barry admits, offering the concerned scientist a small smile. "Besides, if I want Len to start listening to you more, I suppose I should too."  
"Thank you!" Caitlin rolls her eyes. Then she sobers, repeating more sincerely, "Thank you."

\---

"This isn't your best plan!" Mick roars over to his ex-partner as he hides behind the 'spinning cups' attraction. An old cotton candy machine lands a few inches from him, its pieces scattering away as it crashes in on itself.  
"This is the only plan!" Len shouts back, firing at a 'Corkscrew' sign near Grey. It makes the sign fragile and break, falling down towards the Metahuman.  
Grey crosses his arms over his head to protect himself and the sign breaks in two, falling to either side of him without causing any serious harm.  
Mick watches as Grey ages again and he finally realizes why Len has had them baiting and retreating from the Meta. His ex-partner is going to age Grey until he's too old and feeble to fight back.  
"You ready to tell us where they are yet?" Mick tries to give the man an out, a way to save some of his years.  
"I'm not telling you anything!" Grey growls back, furious. "If you're their friends, then you can pay for their mistake!"  
The Meta lifts an orange car riding piece and throws it as if it were a toy towards where Len is hiding. The ex-criminal dashes to the right, far away from any danger as the car comes crashing back towards earth.  
"Everybody's gotta pay the piper eventually!" Len calls out, shooting the ground in case he can trip up his foe. "But today ain't their day!"  
Mick moves from his hiding spot to chase after his ex-partner. Grey is already lifting another car, this one being red, and aiming it at Len.  
"Hey!" the pyro shouts at the Meta. Grey turns and chucks the ride part to the criminal. Mick slides behind a building and hears the 'whizz' as the car flies passed him and crashes to the earth just like its counterpart.  
Len uses his gun as a club to knock Grey a few steps back and into the metal fencing. The ex-criminal pulls on another piece of fence and pushes it in front of the Meta, shooting at the edges to seal it with ice like a makeshift cage.  
Griffon Grey, even with liver spots and snow white hair, is still significantly strong.  
He pulls the 'cage' apart with ease and takes a threatening step closer to Len.  
"Look what the accelerator did to me," Grey lifts his wrinkly old hands up for the other man to see. "Why did this have to happen to me?"  
"That's life, kid," Len tells him. "Bad things happen to people. There's no reason for it. It just happens."  
Grey frowns, takes another step closer, but then his eyes roll to the back of his head and he collapses onto the ground in a heap.

Mick walks over to Len as the other man stares at the Metahuman at his feet.  
"Is he dead?" the pyro asks, holstering his weapon when it doesn't look like their enemy is going to get back up.  
Len holsters his own weapon, crouches down and rolls the body over. A young-again Griffon Grey rolls to his back, eyes closed in sleep.  
"Guess not," Len drawls, getting back to his feet. "Now we just have to..."  
Car lights catch the crime fighter's attention, making him stop mid-sentence.

Joe gets out and approaches the two men with a deep frown darkening his features.  
"I was under the impression that you were supposed to be on bed rest for another week, Len," the detective says as a greeting. "Is that our Metahuman?"  
"Detective West, meet Griffon Grey," Len motions to the unconscious man with his hand. "I don't know the scientific reasons for it, but he's reverted to his younger self."  
Joe nods, "I'm sure Caitlin can figure it out later." His frown doesn't leave his face. "Lisa and Cisco are safely back at STAR Labs. Apparently they rescued themselves and caught a ride with Iris."  
"Which," the detective continues as Len moves to leave. "YOU would have known if you had listened and stayed put."  
"I think you're in for a lecture, Len," Mick chuckles.  
"You're darn right he is," Joe huffs. He jerks his thumb towards his car, "Now, get in. We're going back."

Joe forces Len to go with him while Mick takes his ex-partner's bike. They leave the stolen truck and the Metahuman in the abandoned carnival for now.

\---

"Well, well, well," Lisa tisks at her brother as he enters the cortex with Mick and Joe. "Look who finally dragged himself back home."  
Len doesn't reply with words. He walks straight up to his sister and pulls her into a hug.  
"You're not allowed to disappear on me again," he whispers into her hair.  
Startled, Lisa wraps her arms around her older brother and nods; shakily adding, "Yeah, sure, Lenny."  
Cisco awkwardly clears his throat while the rest of the group pretend not to be staring at the touching moment.  
"Len," Barry addresses his partner first. "How are you feeling?"  
"Peachy," Len smirks, releasing his sister to look towards the small group surrounding him. Henry, Joe, Cisco, Mick, Caitlin, Iris, and Barry are all glaring at him. Out of his peripheral vision, he can see his sister is too.  
The ex-criminal decides to try throwing the attention off himself, "How're your ribs, Barry?"  
"Healing," the speedster answers, still glaring. "But that's beside the point."  
"What is the point?" Len crosses his arms.  
"You left here when you were expressly told not to," Caitlin answers. "You had surgery less then three weeks ago, Len! You heal like the rest of us, which means slowly. You need to rest when we tell you to."  
"Lisa was in trouble," Len defends himself.  
"Lisa was fine and rescued herself," Lisa points out.  
"And she wasn't alone either," Cisco adds. "I was there as well."  
"I had no way of knowing you'd be able to get out of there on your own," Len says.  
"But you did know you were pushing yourself too hard when you left," Barry frowns.  
"And none of you thought to call me when the two of them went missing," Joe scolds. "I might not be your variety of crime fighters, but I still put the bad guys away."  
"You all would have done the same thing if you were in my shoes," Len glares back at the disappointed looks he's getting.  
"We were in your shoes, Len," Barry steps closer to his partner, arm still wrapped around his injuries. "Lisa and Cisco are part of our family too. Didn't you know we'd do everything in our power to get them back?"  
"She's not your sister."  
"But she IS your sister so she's important to me!"  
Lisa smiles warmly to Barry. Her hand reaches over to Cisco's to intertwine their fingers. Len blinks a few times then shakes his head.  
"Familial love aside," Iris pipes up. "We're no good to each other if we don't listen to one another. Len, you could've gotten hurt going after that guy alone."  
The reporter raises her hand when the crime fighter opens his mouth to protest, "And maybe Barry was wrong to bench you so quickly. If he had let you come with him to the crash scene he might've seen what you saw to track them down."  
Barry's protest is stopped by a glare from Iris. He sighs, nodding in acquiesce.  
"If you guys are going to be a team," Henry speaks up. "Then you need to act like a team. No more solo plays."  
All eyes turn to Barry and Len expectantly.

"Fine," Len rolls his eyes. "I'll try not to sneak out of the house without permission."  
Everyone lets out a breath of relief.

 

Later, after everyone else has gone home to their beds, Barry turns to Len and asks, "How did you even get out of here without us knowing?"  
His partner smirks, "This wasn't my first prison break."

 

\---


End file.
